Photoshop CC 2015: Shortcut for next tab not working anymore

The shortcut I used to go to next tab stopped working with Photoshop 2015 Mac. My shortcut was Ctl-tab. All other shortcuts, personalized or not, work fine. I see absolutely no menu command that would allow me to personalize with a shortcut in order to do that.

This can hardly be an OS problem as Photoshop doesn't allow you any shortcut modifications through the system preferences.

I have Photoshop 2014 installed on my laptop and the shortcut works just fine.

Any idea?

Frankly, this is one problem too many. I'm using that shortcut all the time in my workflow. If I can't solve this, I'm going back to Photoshop 2014.

Hello Chris, sorry if I took my own sweet time before answering. I checked everything (almost) so my answer could be somewhat useful, hopefully. I run the very latest OS X, El Capitan 10.11.1 on two machines:

• a desktop Mac Pro 2014 with all the works, and Photoshop 2015
• a Macbook Air 2013, and Photoshop 2014

The shortcut works fine on the laptop. but not on the Mac Pro.

Now some good news: while tweaking the System Preferences under keyboard, I just succeeded in getting back the shortcut to go from one tab to the next (when windows are tabbed). Previously it worked from one WINDOW to the next, not one TAB. OK, funny.

This morning I will carefully compare the two computers' settings and try to find where is the difference that cause this mess (there are at least two, maybe three).

I will be back with the results some time today.

Now, if I may... Adobe goes to great lengths to avoid the Mac interface and impose its own. I don't like it but there we are. In that case, you should add menu commands like these:
• Go to the next tab
• Go to the next window (or whatever)

In other words, go all the way and override those functions too. This way we could put a shortcut of our choosing to those menu commands that for now do not exist.

If not, explain thoroughly in the Help how to set up the Mac so we can get the functionality. Back to checking and experimenting... :-)

OK, here is what I've found. There was a change apparently in the last Photoshop update that forces the mac user to make a change in the System preferences keyboard settings.

1. In Photoshop 2014 the Ctl-tab shortcut works fine with the OS keyboard default settings.

2. In Photoshop 2015.1, the shortcut doesn't work anymore. In order to get back the functionality, I had to change the shortcut for next window to Ctl-tab. I'm not sure of the exact name in English, it must be something like "Move focus to next window".

With that setting in the System preferences, the Ctl-tab shortcut will toggle nicely from tab to tab, or from window to window, or for any combination of tabs and windows. The image below shows you the said settings (modified). It's in French. The English command is in the exact same location.

After careful investigation, I've determined that Photoshop 2015 version 15.1 is responsible for the shortcut mess as far as Ctl-tab is concerned on OS X. Remember, I had told before that if I changed the shortcut in the System Preferences, the shortcut now worked in Photoshop.

Well, two days ago it stopped working again. What a mess. Now here is the new info and how I came to it.

I was running OS 10.11.1 and could not reproduce this issue with the English OS. I've since updated to OS 10.11.2 and still cannot reproduce the problem.

If I have more than one document open, then CNTRL+TAB cycles through the open tabs in direction and SHIFT+CNTRL+TAB goes in the other direction.

Also, TAB and SHIFT+TAB also continue to work as before, that is, to shift between open applications in both directions.

It would appear that there is at least one more element needed to reproduce this problem. I will try with a French OS next, but based on experience, I rather doubt that the language of the OS is the issue. Do you have any non-standard mice, trackballs, tablets, etc in use? Or applications which record or react to keyboard commands?

I must tell you, this is the weirdest thing. I was waiting for writing again about it because I'm not sure what is going on. First, a bit of info:

• the computer is a Mac Pro 2014 with 2 Firepros 500, 32 GB RAM and the trimmings. (all docs on a thunderbolt RAID)
• Standard extended Apple keyboard
• the mouse is the one that comes with the WACOM Intros 3 12 in tablet + pen
• the 30 in monitors are plugged through Apple adaptors on thunderbolt ports

So, nothing special except the WACOM.

About Photoshop:
Both 16.0.1 and 16.1 are running simultaneously so I can compare directly, with to copies of the same file open, one in each version, and one version on one monitor and the other on the second m,monitor.

The "bug": Intermittent! And it is intermittent whether I open the two versions of Photoshop at the same time or not. It never happens on 16.0.1, only with 16.1.

Now come the weirdest:
After reading your comment, I tried something: I opened from the finder 4 documents and tried Ctl-tab. Nothing doing. Then I selected the second document by clicking on its tab and tried Ctl-tab again: it worked, but only for the first two documents. I clicked on the third tab and the shortcut worked for the first three... see what I mean? That's one weird citizen.

Still more bizarre: I just closed the four documents and reopened them by dragging them on the Photoshop icon (to make sure I open the right version): the shortcut doesn't work, except in reverse order (Ctl-Shift-Tab), but for only the last three documents. If I click on the first, they all work and I can cycle through them with the shortcut.

Programs open:
This is a machine used only by me, for work. Right now: Safari, Mail, SpamSieve (plugin for Mail), and one or two versions of Photoshop (usually only one :-) ), I also work with Logic Pro X but almost never at the same time.

I'm writing from Montréal, Québec. I know several photographers in the US, in California and in Indiana mainly. I will put some of them to work, specially a certain James Longster. I know his setup. I will phone him and see what's happening in his case.

By The Way...
You shift between applications with TAB you say? Well, I am surprised, it should not be so. The standard shortcut, which works very well for me, is Cmd-TAB. Is this what you meant?

I will phone James tonight and discuss this with him, see what he gets. I will also shift to English in System Preferences and restart, see what happens. But I'm inclined to think you're right, it should not change anything. Then I will have a look at Activity Monitor which ain't always easy to decipher.

It REALLY sounds like you have something selectively intercepting your CNTRL input. Wacom devices are notoriously guilty of doing this -- if I were you, I would totally disconnect and disable my Wacom and try again. That it sometimes works really points the finger at a rogue tool or application.

That said, I would also switch to a standard keyboard and see if that solves the problem. Photoshop only takes the input the operating system passes it (we make NO attempt to suss out keyboards!) and I've seen many, many users have trouble each time the OS gets a new major release because one or more keyboard setups is no longer fully supported. We had many such issues, for instance, with Russian users when 10.9 came out, but because they sorta work, Photoshop took the blame instead of Apple. 8-(

• My friend in Lafayette, IN does not have the problem, BUT I forgot to ask something very important that I will ask you below.

• Changing the OS language for (American) English made no difference

But I must ask you what are two of your settings:
1. Do you use the Application frame?
2. If not, do you open your documents as tabs or as independent windows?

I ask because the Ctl-TAB shortcut works perfectly well if I use the Application frame or if not, if I open files as independent windows instead of tabs (by changing the corresponding setting in Photoshop Preferences.

I will ask the guy in Lafayette tomorrow to check what settings he has and results he gets with my settings.

Ah ha! David,maybe we're getting somewhere. I want you, if you would, to go into Preferences -> Workspace, and check the option "Open documents As Tabs".

Then Quit Photoshop. Then drag t here or four files on Photoshop icon. They shield open as tabs inside a single window... without the application frame of course.

Now try Ctl-TAG and tell me what happens.

See, the problem exists only with tabbed windows without application frame (my usual setup. In other words, we're still not testing the same thing.

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About the equipment:
• I tested with or without the Wacom tablet - no change.
• To be sure, I installed Photoshop CC on a Macbook Air and started up with a new admin user, using a Bluetooth mouse. Same problem
• One of the Photoshops is in English with an English OS (for the time being...), the other is in French with a French OS. No difference,
• I will phone two guys in Indiana this afternoon and fight it outwit them, trying to reproduce the bug. Even a negative result will help. Then I will bring back the results here.
• Sorry, I don't have your standard keyboard around here. what would I do with them, trying to find éèÂÇ. Your lucky that my name doesn't have a couple of accents in it like my wife Hélène, that all Americans call Helen but not the Brits who always have had a very long nose, it's a known fact! Just kidding.

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Who's at fault, Adobe or Apple? It matters none to me. I'm an old scientist with a lot of letters after my name and I've learned that the letters don't mean much except to bring in money. All I want is this problem to be solved... for when Photoshop CC 2015 16.1 reappears with a usable interface that is.

So, who's at fault? Let's say no one, or both. Because at the end of the day, 16.0.1 WORKS for me, and 16.1 DOES NOT. This is one gigantic clue.

I cannot in the world see how my OS could decide not to trap Ctl-TAB except for the last version of Photoshop. I smell a rat. Kinda...

Now don't forget what I've already said about Photoshop, specially in this other thread about the new UI: I LOVE the product, absolutely. It's fun, it's creative. Still a work in progress, but what is not? I love it as much as I love my Mac environment. It's a matter of beauty. So you're certainly doing something right! (excluding the new UI... :-) ). This being said, we have to solve this (at least I do).

And I know for a fact that something you guys did between 16.0.1 and 16.1 killed my shortcut. Killed it without killing it as it works for certain settings and not for others. Look at it from my angle, you did something between the two versions that killed my shortcut when using tabbed files in a single window without application frame.

I just can't think otherwise: it works with CC 16.0.1. Whoever is responsible, that's a fact. And one of the reasons why I'm sticking to 16.0.1 (I reinstalled 16.1 only for the purpose of this discussion).

Anyway, I feel that you're taking this very seriously and it's heartwarming. Thanks.

Actually, all you know is that the shortcut is not working on your system at the moment. You, nor we, know of the cause.

Now we're trying to get information to reproduce the problem so we can help you track down the cause, wherever it may be. If we cannot reproduce the problem on our systems (and so far we cannot), then the cause may be something specific to your system (a setting, utility, corrupt files, etc.).

Chris, I'm sorry but I'm right and you're in the wrong. The proof just came in by phone.

The problem is, you did not check the thing with MY SETTINGS which I gave you above. They are simple :
1. Check Open documents as tabs in preferences
2, Uncheck Application frame.

I am not certain, but pretty confident that you will meet the problem IF YOU PROCEED LIKE THIS:

1. After changing the prefs, quit PS.
2. Drag 3 or 4 or more files on PS icon, they will open as tabs in a single window.
3. The last tab is always selected in those circumstances.

Now try the shortcut, it will not work.

On the phone, James Longster in Lafayette, IN, just tried it followihng my instructions, exactly as above.

He met the bug.

Then I asked him this: click once on each window tab, and try the shortcut.

The shortcut worked.

He did it twice again, the whole of it. Same results.

My definitive conclusion:

My three machines on which I tried it here (two Mac Pros and one Macbook Air), are perfectly OK, they're not causing this.

It's not Apple's fault, it's yours.

I gave you James Longster's email above. He's a registered subscriber to Photoshop CC. I could ask him to chime in here if need be.

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Listen, I'm a very old hand at this. I know Photoshop fairly well, I've used it from the beginning. That's what, 25 years? I'm a pro user, working with a log of shortcuts. My own Photoshop is heavily customized, I've put shortcuts on all commands I use including all my actions.

Now, I also stress the point that I will be using 16.0.1, WHICH WORKS, and not 16.1 which has this bug and an unacceptable UI.

So for me the urgency is totally gone as I will not upgrade till I am forced to by a new OS or something.

As a PhD in science, I love to solve this kind of things, it's a challenge. Frankly I've tried to help and from now on it's up to you. I've lost much more than a day on this, I know who has to do something, and it's you.

I wish you luck, I very well know that a single line of code hidden somewhere could be hard to find.